Tired of anonymous hotels? Sick of chain restaurants? Want to broaden your understanding of the places you visit? Me, too. That’s why I’ve created this blog and its companion website, www.LaVidaLocal.com. Both point curious travellers to the many ways to explore a place beyond the traditional package tour--everything from house swap organizations to language immersion programs.

About Me

Laura’s first encounter with the written word was not auspicious: her birth announcement appeared in her hometown newspaper under the heading “Livestock for Sale.” Despite that embarrassing print debut, she decided to become a journalist, specializing in social history, retail and travel topics. She has created a website, LaVidaLocal.com, that delves into ways to live like a local while travelling. Her articles have appeared in more than 80 publications in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. She has also written 11 books. Dying to know more? (Really?) You can check out her personal website at LauraByrnePaquet.com.

Twitter Updates

Sunday, October 18, 2009

For 20 years, I used single-lens reflex (SLR) film cameras, but I've been using various point-and-shoots since about 2002, waiting for the price of digital SLRs to come down. Recently, the wait ended. And now, as the proud new owner of a DSLR, I'm avid to reacquaint myself with all the bells and whistles an SLR can offer: more control over exposure and focus, various lenses and filters, and more.

In particular, I'm trolling for tips on how to make better pictures while travelling, and I've come across a number of useful articles online.

Their stuff is insanely catchy, as you can tell from this YouTube video:

My favourite international riff on Indian music is still the "Indo-calypso-jazz" of Trinidad-born Mungal Patasar--his song Tendonitis (Razorshop Remix) is one of the best things on my iPod-- but Shava is a close second. Any band that can nickname one of its members "the Finnjabi bad boy" has to be a contender.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Ever wanted to run your own home exchange site? Do you have an artistic bent? Montreal-based ArtStudioExchanges.com is for sale (along with its French-language version, TrocAtelier.com). Aimed at artists and art teachers who need somewhere to stay for a vacation or sabbatical, the home-swap site is for sale because the owner--a full-time artist and picture framer--doesn't have time to promote it properly.

Okay, I'll admit that part of the reason I was excited about visiting Gibsons, British Columbia, was the chance to check out the place where a hoary old CBC-TV series called "The Beachcombers" was filmed. Weirdly, I didn't even like the show when it aired from 1972 to 1990. It's just that Canada has precious few famous TV sites, so it was kind of cool to see one.

And yes, indeed, you can still visit some of the sites made famous by the 1970s show, including a revamped version of a restaurant called Molly's Reach. But there are many more reasons to visit Gibsons: it has lovely art galleries and craft shops, some unpretentious restaurants (we checked out a highly recommended one called Smitty's Oyster House, but didn't have time to eat there) and one of the most gorgeous little harbours you're likely to see anywhere.

This week, Gibsons gained one new claim to fame: it was just judged the world's most liveable city (population 20,000 or under) in the International Awards for Liveable Communities (LivCom), held in Pilsen, Czech Republic.The city of 4,000 on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast, about 45 minutes from West Vancouver, had to excel in six criteria: Enhancement of the Landscape, Heritage Management, Environmentally Sensitive Practices, Community Sustainability, Healthy Lifestyles and Planning for the Future.

I don't know much about the deep details of Gibsons' municipal environmental management, to be honest, aside from the fact that a waterfront condo development proposal recently ignited a firestorm of debate (see my article about the Sunshine Coast for Legion magazine). But I do know that it's a mighty pleasant place to roam around--even though you won't run into the late actor Bruno Gerussi.

Disclosure: I travelled to the Sunshine Coast as a guest of the Vancouver Coast & Mountains Tourism Region.